Kenyan police serving in the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti on Monday night led a team of officers in recapturing Telco facilities that had been under gang control for the past week.
Last Tuesday, gangs under the Viv Ansanm group seized Télcos Station, a key facility, and threatened to shut down all telecommunications across Haiti.
However, their control was short-lived as the Kenyan-led MSS team staged an ambush, reclaiming the site from the gangs.
MSS spokesperson Jack Ombaka said that the gangs suffered heavy losses during the operation which involved a methodical sweep of the facility.
“Several individuals who attempted to flee or hide were apprehended, while a cache of weapons and other materials were seized and handed over to the Haitian National Police (PNH),” Mr Ombaka said.
He added that the mission team is also working to clear roadblocks erected by the gangs on routes leading to the Telco facilities.
Since taking over the Telco site, the gangs had declared themselves in charge of the National Office for Civil Aviation Control (Ofnac). They circulated videos showing their occupation.
One of the leaders featured in the footage was Johnson Andre, alias Izo, who wore a stolen police vest and carried a hand grenade. The video shows him disconnecting devices and threatening to blow up the facility to cut off all telecommunications in Haiti.
On December 8, 2023, Andre was sanctioned by the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) under Executive Order 13818 for serious human rights abuses linked to his leadership of a criminal gang in Haiti.
The Telco location is highly strategic, hosting key institutions, including communications infrastructure for the main aviation towers of Haiti’s international airport. Authorities say had Izo carried out his threats, communication systems would have collapsed, grounding flights in and out of the country.
In February, Haitian security forces reclaimed the army’s Téléco base in Kenscoff after a deadly gang assault left one soldier and two security agents dead.
The Ministry of Defense confirmed at the time that Petit-homme Charles Benictor, a soldier assigned to guard the site, was killed. The Protected Areas Security Brigade (BSAP) also lost two agents, while two other soldiers were injured and hospitalised.
The fate of the MSS mission remains uncertain with its current mandate set to expire in the first week of October.
The Nation understands that fresh talks are ongoing over the mission’s future. Kenya is backing these discussions even as the United States signals interest in diluting Nairobi’s central role in Haiti.
During last week’s Organisation of American States (OAS) meeting, delegates debated a proposal to bring in more foreign peacekeepers while reducing Kenya’s dominance in the MSS mission. The OAS comprises 34 independent states.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary, Dr Korir Sing’oei, told the Sunday Nation that Nairobi welcomes the talks but stressed that restoring peace in Haiti must remain the ultimate goal.
“Kenya’s interest from the very beginning has been to ensure that peace is restored in Haiti. Already, the US has proposed an establishment group of partners to help revamp Haiti’s security forces, which is the right move,” Dr Sing’oei said.
He noted that since June 2024, when the first Kenyan contingent arrived in Haiti, the officers have gone above and beyond in confronting heavily armed gangs despite operating with limited resources.
“From media reports, it is evident that our officers have secured a number of areas in Haiti under difficult circumstances. There is no need to draw premature conclusions from the ongoing discussions on the future of MSS,” he added.
President William Ruto has separately urged the United Nations to continue supporting the mission, emphasising Kenya’s preference for an extended, well-funded operation rather than a phased withdrawal.
